My job at Arthur Andersen seems like a lifetime ago. Since then, I have been a bartender, gone back to school multiple times, moved to Florida, worked at the NY Daily News, two national celeb gossip mags and started a health and wellness company.

I started work as an auditor the fall after I graduated from UMass. I had majored in Accounting after seeing how awesome my Cousin George’s life was. He golfed a few times a week, had a gorgeous brownstone in Boston and traveled a lot. He was also a worldwide partner for over 20 years.

So as I reported to 1345 Avenue of the Americas on my first day, I thought my career as an accountant was going to be just glorious.

I was in for a rude awakening. For those of you not familiar, at Andersen, the lowly staff auditors didn’t have our own desks. We had a drawer where we locked up our computer and other personal items but on a daily basis, when we got to the office, it was our responsibility to find a space at a long desk with people jammed together in a row or get one of the coveted private cubicles that were up for grabs. I learned very quickly to come in a little early to snag one of those.

At first, I didn’t quite understand why we couldn’t just have our own desk. Everyday, I logged in to a different telephone with my personal code, set up my IBM Thinkpad and chained it to the desk with a Kensington lock. But I soon learned that the first year crew didn’t have a desk because we were NEVER in the office.

Right away, I was put on a client based in Stamford, CT. For almost 5 months, I didn’t see NYC or my apartment. I schlepped to Stamford everyday for some boring client that I cared nothing about and ended up spending many nights with my mother in White Plains, just so I wouldn’t have to do the evening commute. It was hell.

But even though I was in Stamford, I realize it wasn’t that bad. At least I hadn’t been sent away on a place, so far that I couldn’t come home for a night if I wanted to see my boyfriend or have a night out with friends.

That didn’t last long. My next client was Bradlees Department Store, based in Braintree, Massachusetts. I had gone to Umass, Amherst and was hoping Braintree would be as charming as Amherst and the surrounding towns.

It wasn’t. We stayed at a Sheraton that looked like a castle and ate at places like Chili’s every night. The client was pretty cool – I realized I really liked doing inventory. But they were going broke and things were super tense all of the time. Even worse, we flew up on the shuttle on Monday and back on Friday so I never got to feel settled in NYC or Boston. I began to wonder why I was even paying $1,200 for a room in a converted 1-bedroom NYC apartment anymore.

I was relived when it ended. But I was sent away again. This time, Dallas, Texas was my destination.

I actually can’t complain about this particular job. I was there with two really fun guys, Steve and Frank. We stayed in rooms at the Four Season in Addison (I had a portable phone and thought it was SO cool, I would take it with me into the jacuzzibathtub), went to awesome steakhouses (I mean, it was Dallas. What ELSE were we supposed to eat?), and even a few strip clubs. One night, we partied in the back room with Dennis Rodman. Fun times.

When it was back to NYC. I was thrilled to be home again. I even spent a few weeks in the office, getting to catch up with my office friends, hitting happy hour at Red Eye Grille, Place and other yupster bars in the 50’s on the East Side. I was able to deflate and have some fun.

I remember actually getting to do some cool things at work. I was sent out to Bulgari with my BFF Jon to do an inventory on their jewels. I tried on necklaces and rings that cost more than the house I grew up in.

But playtime didn’t last long.

I got put on another client, this time based in NYC. It was an ad agency, called BCom3. It was fun at first. The team I was working with were definitely the “cool kids” and I was excited to be a part of their team. And the company we were auditing was fun and creative. Too bad I was “The Auditor.”

For months, I went to their offices at Worldwide Plaza on 8th Avenue. A few weeks in to the project, I recall the elevator door opening on a random floor. It was the headquarters for Island/Def Jam. I peeked my head out and saw hip, creative types walking around wearing jeans. I, of course, was in my black business casual suit with pumps. Ugh.

This went on for months. One day, I even started searching for jobs online in the music industry. I knew I wanted to do something creative. But I still continued to spend my days poring over Balance Sheets, 10K’s and creating Excel spreadsheets. I was miserable. I cried. A lot.

I was working one night late – like 1 am late – when the partner on the job brought in a coffee machine and passed out bottles of No-Doz type pills to keep us awake and productive. I felt so trapped and depressed. Was this REALLY my life?

My breaking point came on Valentine’s Day. My boyfriend Justin had made dinner reservations for us somewhere fancy, and I had even told him to make it late since my work days had been never-ending. Well, our 10 pm date at Candela came and went, and I was still stuck at my desk. I was hysterical. Work had completely taken over my life, and I didn’t even like what I was doing!

That week, I made an appointment with a psychiatrist who was a friend of our family. I explained my situation to him and he told me I was suffering from really bad anxiety. No shit.

But along with a prescription for Paxil, Doc gave me a doctor’s note. He had signed off on a medical leave of absence due to exhaustion and stress. I didn’t even know that existed but I was overjoyed.

I dropped my note off with HR and bid adieu to my personal hell – for at least a few months, full salary.

Then, the most amazing thing happened. Arthur Andersen was found guilty of criminal charges related to their audit of Enron. The company I despised was no more.

I went into the office to collect my severance – I was still an employee, after all – wearing a red Michael Jackson jacket, tight jeans and pointy toe black pumps. It was nice to see some of my old co-workers, but even nicer to walk through the hallways knowing I would never, ever be back.